Fitting out an 1801

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Classic Parker Boat Forum

Help Support Classic Parker Boat Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
C

CMS

Member
Joined
May 7, 2020
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Location
New Jersey
Few questions. Since this boat has a Bimini should I look for a shorty antenna for the vhf or is there another solution? Any good shorty antennas to recommend? Also having a flat console I’m thinking where to put a stereo since my vhf May go in the little cubby. Also speaker location. Any 1801 owners thought through this? Mine is a 2003. Any photos of electronic installs on the model? Thanks!
 
8ft......don't even think about one of those sailboat 3ft antenna's.

My short story is....You will not hear half the radio transmission with the 3ft as you will with the 8ft.
I've sat 25ft from another boat that had a 8ftr....Did this a Loooooong time ago for the reason you list.

With a Bimini top....You don't have much choice but to go to a washboard mounting point.

Stereo radio.....The Fusion FA55 is a Super unit for that boat...Powerful & super compact.
 
Boating will be in the bay mostly north Barnegat bay NJ. I guess my range with vhf needs to be at least two miles? What is a washboard mount? Thanks for the referral for a fusion radio. Looking at those now.
 
The washboard is usually known to layman as the Gunnel. which is actually a incorrect term.

It's that flat panel around the permiter of the boat that keeps water from washing in....The bump rail is just on the outside of it.

159348ss_f.jpg
 
We are ready to install our VHF radio and antenna on our 1801cc. Anyone have some pictures to share of their set up? We are in need of some good ideas on where to install them. Thanks.
 
CMS To save space I went with a stereo and VHF radio where the "black box" is mounted under the console. The Mic and Stereo controller are surface mounted. This setup has worked well for me. I have a 4' antenna that is mounted to the grab rail. Again, for my purposes this has worked very well. I'm in Delaware and hear chatter 20 miles away in NJ and have had folks in NJ hear my radio checks. Your setup will really depend on what stereo and VHF you choose to go with. Here is a pic of my console ...
IMG_2959.JPG
 
Croixboy said:
CMS To save space I went with a stereo and VHF radio where the "black box" is mounted under the console. The Mic and Stereo controller are surface mounted. This setup has worked well for me. I have a 4' antenna that is mounted to the grab rail. Again, for my purposes this has worked very well. I'm in Delaware and hear chatter 20 miles away in NJ and have had folks in NJ hear my radio checks. Your setup will really depend on what stereo and VHF you choose to go with. Here is a pic of my console ...
View attachment 26868
Click to expand...
Croixboy, do you have any more pictures of the black box and antenna installation, especially from inside the console? I'm considering doing something pretty much identical to your setup.
 
Croixboy said:
CMS To save space I went with a stereo and VHF radio where the "black box" is mounted under the console. The Mic and Stereo controller are surface mounted. This setup has worked well for me. I have a 4' antenna that is mounted to the grab rail. Again, for my purposes this has worked very well. I'm in Delaware and hear chatter 20 miles away in NJ and have had folks in NJ hear my radio checks. Your setup will really depend on what stereo and VHF you choose to go with. Here is a pic of my console ...
View attachment 26868
Nice install! I appreciate the pic and the information. Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
pelagic2530 here are a few pics of my install. Mounting of the black boxes under the console was very easy. I put them near the hatch opening so I could get to them easily if needed. The one other thing I used was the Shakespeare 4357-S am/fm VHF separator. This separator allows me to use the antenna for both stereo and VHF radio. The antenna mount was very simple ... it clamped to my grab rail. I drilled a 1/4" (or so) hole for the RG58 cable and used zip ties to mount it under the console. Then you attach the PL-259 connector (supplied with the antenna) at the end of the cable and plug it into the separator.
The VHF Radio is on the right, and Clarion Black box stereo on the left.
image2.jpeg

I used stainless bolts to mount the black boxes to the console. You can see the bolts in the pics below.
image0.jpeg
image1.jpeg
 
Croixboy, thanks for the additional detail. What model VHF is that? I'm curious as to how the remote mic function is rigged and how it works. Can you turn the radio on and off from the remote, or do you need to do it at the head unit? Are there any features that you can't control remotely?

I've been looking at the Icom M400 black-box system to do essentially the same thing. I had planned to mount it on the inside of the glovebox, so it could be stowed away completely when not in use.
 
Pelagic2530 its an older Standard Horizon Quest-X GX1500S VHF radio. The remote mic is a Standard Horizon CMP25B.
The remote mic has fitting that attaches to your console, and then you plug the mic into the fitting and turn to tighten. What I like about that is I can easily remove the remote mic if needed.
Regarding functionality of the remote mic you can basically do everything you need. Turn on/off, volume, squelch, scan, change channels, weather channel, emergency 16/9, distress, etc. It has a large digital display that shows the channel and speaker all built into the mic. I never go under the console for anything. That being said, if the remote mic failed for whatever reason I could still use the radio under the console. The radio mounted under the console has the original mic attached.
image0 (1).jpeg
 
CMS Here is where I installed my stereo speakers. I wanted them to point back to me at the helm. Also, just installed some blue under gunnel LED's. The pic was taken in the dark
image0.png
 
Parker_Scott thanks! I got them from ledsupply.com. Not the cheapest out there but not the most expensive either. These are their IP65 Waterproof Strip lights - "standard definition" in blue. I have 16' running up one side and another 16' strip running down the other. I hooked them up to an empty "Accessory" rocker switch on my panel and they work great.
 
Maybe a bit more pricey but worth it if they work in a marine environment and look good. I have a 2021 1801 on order. I’m thinking since I have the front casting deck Id go shorter, probably would do red too. Did you use the solderless clamps to interface the end of the leds to the wires you ran to the accessory switch?
 
parker_scott I ran a 22 gauge wire from the console switch/negative bus up to the bow. My light strips meet at the bow where I spliced the 2 together with the power wire I ran from the console. I was going to tie into the existing cockpit lights done at the factory, but i left them as-is. Yes, I simply used solderless clamps/connections.
 
Croixboy said:
parker_scott I ran a 22 gauge wire from the console switch/negative bus up to the bow. My light strips meet at the bow where I spliced the 2 together with the power wire I ran from the console. I was going to tie into the existing cockpit lights done at the factory, but i left them as-is. Yes, I simply used solderless clamps/connections.
Click to expand...
Croixboy what was your reason behind the choice of 22ga wire? ABYC standards specify a minimum of 16ga wire for all marine wiring with the exception of manufacturer-installed pigtails on individual pieces of equipment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top